Cops Bust Crazed Senior In Bridge Attack

A hostile half-naked man went on the Queensboro Bridge on November 12, pummeling a bicyclist in an unprovoked attack as the victim pedaled along the bridge bike path, police said.

Cops said Everett Gayle, 65, of Long Island City, ran across the bicycle path on the bridge’s Manhattan-bound lower level at about 6:45 a.m. and punched Joel Custer so hard in the jaw that the impact knocked Custer off his bike.

The blow caused Custer, 35, to lose a few teeth, police said. Custer also suffered a split lip and possibly a broken jaw, police sources said.

Custer, who works as a propman for the cable TV show, “Nurse Jackie”, underwent emergency surgery at New York Presbyterian Hospital – Weill Cornell and was listed in stable condition.

Police who responded to the scene were forced to restrain Gayle, who was wearing pants but no shirt, the sources said. Eyewitnesses told police Gayle attacked Custer “for no reason” and he appeared “emotionally disturbed” throughout the incident, the sources said.

The incident shut down the lower level of the bridge for approximately one hour, resulting in traffic backups that lingered into the morning rush hour.

Gayle was charged with harassment and assault at his arraignment at Queens Criminal Court, where he was ordered to Elmhurst Hospital Center for psychiatric evaluation.